May 08, 2010

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Former SEIU President Andy Stern sought to ensure his succession by offering the union's number two job, and prospects of its presidency, to a White House official closely tied to the labor movement, three labor sources said Saturday.

Stern and his protege, Anna Burger, proposed running White House political director Patrick Gaspard -- a former SEIU official -- on a ticket with Burger, whom Stern supported for the presidency of the union.

The talks grew quite advanced: Stern and Burger spoke with George Gresham, the pivotal president of the union's largest local, New York's 1199, and offered him assurances not just that Gaspard would be given the number-two job, but that he would eventually succeed Burger as president, the sources said. Gresham indicated that he would throw his weight behind the slate.

Gaspard, who left the post of 1199 political director to take the same job on the Obama campaign, could well have pulled a united union behind Burger. Between the support of 1199 and the catch of a former senior White House official, it's unclear that a rival campaign would have developed.

"They started working on him in late January/early February to join her as Secretary Treasurer while Anna filled out the remainder of Andy's term," one of the sources said. "Their calculus was that he would never turn down the dream job -- President of SEIU -- and that this would lock in the votes for her because Gresham and [executive board member Gerald] Hudson would give her their votes since they are tight with Gaspard."

Another source said that while there was never an explicit promise of when Burger would hand over the reins to Gaspard, the promise of the presidency at some point was explicit.

Early leaks of Stern's planned retirement scuttled the discussions, the sources said, but the real sticking point was Gaspard, who rejected the arrangement (and who didn't respond to inquiries about the discussions). In his absence, Burger lost out to Mary Kay Henry, whose supporters included Gresham's 1199.

"Apparently he didn't want to abandon the President, even for I would presume is the better job," said a labor source. "I am not sure I get it since they are going to lose seats and as poitical director he will have to eat it, but I guess he is a loyal guy."

Get a grip you far right extremists, you can't have it both ways, even though you'd like to. An official of the Obama administration was offered a job and he refused. People come and go in every administration, this is done all the time. Quit your whining, there's plenty of bigger fish to fry in this country right now!!

Posted By: Get a grip you far right extremists, you can't have it both ways, even though you'd like to. An offi | May 08, 2010 at 07:27 PM

It's more likely Obama didn't want more egg on his face, Ben Smith. You could have easily found the answer as to why Gaspard couldn't get on the SEIU ticket if you'd paid attention to Obama's campaign promise posted on his Organizing For America website.
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/index_campaign.php
"Close the revolving door on former and future employers:
"No political appointees in an Obama-Biden administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration."

the dems have three constituencies: minorities, attorneys, and labor, especially government works.
the unions raise money and provide campaign workers for the dems. the dems return the cash in the form of raises and benefits. the public employees then deduct their union dues from their taxes. and the cycle continues.
the system is TOTALLY corrupt. and we are going bankrupt because of it. i guess that makes a "right wing extremist" in the words of won "brain dead leftist" (a government employee no doubt).

Posted By: Vivienne | May 08, 2010 at 08:34 PM
Give me a break , when has anything that Obama said during the campaign actually meant anything..
Who was it that he was meeting with behind locked doors to the back rooms, when making deals for healthcare??
Just every special interest group including SEIU, that he could think of to make a deal with! Even going as far to bribe Senators to get votes!

Dennis and Lil John:
Of course everyone knows Obama hasn't kept his campaign promises. My post was more about Ben Smith misleading the reader with all these excuses rather than Stern's crumbling SEIU grip!
To blame it on Gaspard is lame. There is a lot more going on with Stern, ACORN and Obama than Politico or any other left leaning Obama rag will acknowledge. Thugs don't just resign from power and go away.
Why doesn't Mr. Smith comment on Mr Stern, who left SEIU $85 million in debt, and how he is qualified to serve on Obama's Debt Commission? Is crony capitalism really a qualification needed to tackle the Nation's Budget Deficit? Or could it be because of the more than $60 million he looted from SEIU to help get Barry elected.
Lord help us all until 2012.

You know folks if we ever get a Republican Congress and President again, I would hope their first domestic acts are:
1) Make a National Right to work law
2) Deunionize the Federal workforce
3) Investigate every union for Rico violations
Unions have long outlived their original purposes. Like NATO & the UN they're just looking to find a reason for not dying.

Lemme see as I remember it. NO way would be his campaign PROMISES cuz yall sex loving REPUBLUCINS were counting them.
Posted By: Hashee | May 09, 2010
_____________________________
What in the name of god does this mean?????

This Scumbag (Stern) is at the absolute bottom of the Socialist Cesspool..!!! This is the kind of TRASH Hussein and his kind hang with. Wake up VOTERS and NON VOTERS..!!! You want this sort of Gutter Trash running your life's!!?!?!?!?

Posted By: This Scumbag (Stern) is at the absolute bottom of the Socialist Cesspool..!!! This is the kind of TR | May 09, 2010 at 01:52 PM

The labor movement will continue in decline so long as unions continue to be "run as businesses"! Unions have become self-focused corporate-like entities who care only about their existential survival even at the expense of their membership. Suits are suits no matter what side of the negotiating table they occupy with the ultimate goal of not only influencing govt. policy but actually securing their place as part of the controlling corporatocracy!

Great! The new Prez of the union is a frickin moron, so I'm glad this guy didn't take the job, we didn't get a tuned up maniac running the union, just a looney whacko ... and the tuned up maniac will perish with Obama when he crashes and burns.!
Whats not to like?

Who said the Obama administration wasn't aiming for a socialist take over of our country? If the openly socialist SEIU 's monkeying around at the White House isn't enough to convince you then NOTHING will. What does it take?

You far right wingers have really outdone yourselves this time. Of course you support the likes of the pigs on wall street rather than to see the average American earn decent wages and benefits. You use scare tactics trying to scare people, but we are sick of the greed of wall street and corporate honchos that make 300 times the amount of us average workers. It is out of control and getting worse. It's time to stick up for ourselves!!

Posted By: You far right wingers have really outdone yourselves this time. Of course you support the likes of t | May 10, 2010 at 12:18 AM

The cynicism is getting really tired. The fact is that while there has been true conflict of interest issues with regard to government appointees in every administration too simply just say it all the time is not helpful. The reality is your going to have folks from private industry in public administration and these individuals will sometimes be expected to oversee regulation of the industry from whence they came. Just saying it is always going to be corrupt is cynical and irresponsible. How should we choose people if we can't get them to serve in a capacity they have expertise in or valuable knowledge of?

Posted By: The cynicism is getting really tired. The fact is that while there has been true conflict of intere | May 10, 2010 at 01:30 AM

It's now official, our Country is run by the unions and "BIG LABOR." Just like Greece, we should have a swell future ahead of US??. Look at all of the promise of hope and change that Greece is showing US we can look forward to?. It kind of makes me heart all warm and fuzzy?.

Sweet talker, You are so wrong. Our country is not run by unions, it is run by greedy, filthy, stinking , lying corporate management that could give a sh!t about the average worker. They take down good companies with their poor management, and then they have the nerve to pay themselves outrageous salaries and bonuses setting themselves up for life!!

U.S. Taxpayers should not somehow get suck with SEIU's $85 million debt; and considering the Union spent millions on Obama's campaign. Perhaps SEIU needs a deep independent audit to closely examine how its $85 million in debt came about.